Vomit Stew
You know the night in the Green Mile isn't going to go well when it starts like this.... Bed 5.... open the curtain and there is pink vomit everywhere with chunks of what looks (and smells) like feta cheese. The off-going nurse and I rush to get towels down to absorb the disgusting mess. She accidentally bumps the bedside table and knocks the full urinal onto the floor. The subsequent swamp-like mess in addition to the kayexalate shit in the bedside commode is the holy trinity of vomit stew. To think, I only had to wait 15 minutes into my shift for this one.
My last oh-so-pleasant vomit episode was at the END of my last shift when a trauma pt decided to projectile vomit as soon as the rocuronium was pushed. Anesthesia, being the geniuses they are first shoved a yaunker down, and then proceeded to roll the patient towards me! (cardinal sin friends.... vomit always gets rolled AWAY from the nurse!)So vomit ends up all over me, including in my mouth. Blech! Thankfully all HIV/Hepatitis/etc was negative, so all I have is the memories.
The rest of my night on the Mile consisted of avoiding the bitchy nurse who apparently didn't take her bipolar meds and was having a down night, and helping with a code that got lined, a-line, dopamine, paced (they were gonna transvenous pace.... I was the only nurse who knew how to do that one) and coded a couple of times to boot. My charge nurse was upset that I spent so much time helping the nurse in that zone. To which I told the CC.... if there is another CCRN who know how to do this shit then bring her in... if my charge can do it better, then let her take over. Otherwise, shut the fuck up and let me do this!
I also had the pleasure of rinsing out a pair of ears that had obviously not seen soap, water, or a q-tip since the Nixon administration. I put docusate and lido jelly in dude's ears. Let it marinade and then flushed. Earwax (cerumen) is supposed to be yellow/orange.... right? This shit was BLACK, with what looked to be brown and mold too. Fucking disgusting. I couldn't even get it al. He has to go to the ENT clinic to get it removed.
There are nights where I get to scratch my brain and I truly love my job. Teaching the cardiology resident how to effectively use our pacer was fun, but the associated BS with the charge nurse was painful. This place is so painful these days, its hard not to feel burnt out.
My last oh-so-pleasant vomit episode was at the END of my last shift when a trauma pt decided to projectile vomit as soon as the rocuronium was pushed. Anesthesia, being the geniuses they are first shoved a yaunker down, and then proceeded to roll the patient towards me! (cardinal sin friends.... vomit always gets rolled AWAY from the nurse!)So vomit ends up all over me, including in my mouth. Blech! Thankfully all HIV/Hepatitis/etc was negative, so all I have is the memories.
The rest of my night on the Mile consisted of avoiding the bitchy nurse who apparently didn't take her bipolar meds and was having a down night, and helping with a code that got lined, a-line, dopamine, paced (they were gonna transvenous pace.... I was the only nurse who knew how to do that one) and coded a couple of times to boot. My charge nurse was upset that I spent so much time helping the nurse in that zone. To which I told the CC.... if there is another CCRN who know how to do this shit then bring her in... if my charge can do it better, then let her take over. Otherwise, shut the fuck up and let me do this!
I also had the pleasure of rinsing out a pair of ears that had obviously not seen soap, water, or a q-tip since the Nixon administration. I put docusate and lido jelly in dude's ears. Let it marinade and then flushed. Earwax (cerumen) is supposed to be yellow/orange.... right? This shit was BLACK, with what looked to be brown and mold too. Fucking disgusting. I couldn't even get it al. He has to go to the ENT clinic to get it removed.
There are nights where I get to scratch my brain and I truly love my job. Teaching the cardiology resident how to effectively use our pacer was fun, but the associated BS with the charge nurse was painful. This place is so painful these days, its hard not to feel burnt out.
posted by jeepgirl at 09:20
4 Comments:
Ahhhhh!!!! yuck, yuck yuck!!!!!!
Sometimes nursing is just plain flat out gross. The vomit stew and ear wax definitely sound like they qualify for sure.
what exactly does docusate do to the ear wax? soften it up??
Yep! colace or docusate in liquid form is great for ear wax. Just put an mL or 2 in the ear, have them lay on their side so it gets in there. You can even put a warm towel over their ear. Wait a while, then use and IV catheter on the end of a syringe and flush it out with warm water.
Post a Comment
<< Home